Sun 4 May 2025 at 19:44Here’s the latest traffic and travel news from around Northern Ireland. Load moreTickarooLive Blog SoftwareStock image Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening Please check your inbox to verify your details The object was reported in the Rathmore Drive area of the town on Saturday. A spokesperson said: “Police are currently in attendance following a report of a suspicious object located at the Rathmore Drive area of Newtownabbey on Saturday, April 26. “Motorists are advised to avoid the area.” Facebook pageTwitter feed RSS feed@2025 The Irish News Ltd A blast bomb found in the Rathcoole estate similar to the one left at the home of Jonny Smyth's mum The mother of the man accused of murdering John George was the target of a pipe bomb attack by a criminal gang A device was discovered outside Dawn Smyth’s home in the Ballyclare countryside just hours after a similar explosive package was placed near a property in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey Local Democracy ReporterWed 30 Apr 2025 at 15:45Antrim and Newtownabbey Mayor Councillor Neil Kelly has acknowledged the “sad passing” of former Newtownabbey first citizen Ted Turkington Speaking at this month’s meeting of the borough council at Mossley Mill in Newtownabbey on Monday evening had been mayor of the legacy Newtownabbey Borough Council in 2004/5 a spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party said: “We are saddened to announce the passing of former Ulster Unionist councillor and Mayor of Newtownabbey Council "Ted was a valued member of the community and was passionate about and dedicated to “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted’s children siblings and the entire Turkington family circle during this difficult time.” South Antrim MLA Steve Aiken said: “Ted was a dedicated public servant whose support for his community was unstinting Even in his retirement he made a valuable contribution to Newtownabbey “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted’s family but especially by the South Antrim Association.” Ballyclare Ulster Unionist councillor Vera McWilliam said: “Edward Alfred Turkington (known as Ted) was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in 1997 representing the District Electoral Area of Ballyclare and then went on and served as Mayor 2004-2005 “Ted was a hard-working and well-liked mayor representing all members of his constituents He will be sorely missed by many people across South Antrim and beyond.” South Antrim MP Robin Swann said: “Ted’s service and dedication to his people and to the council are an example to many and he will be sadly missed.” Mr Turkington was described as “father of Edward the late Samuel and their husbands and wives” Mr Turkington passed away on April 13 and a service of Thanksgiving for his life was held in Kilbride Presbyterian Church on April 22 In his opening remarks at the council meeting the mayor also noted the “sad passing” of Pope Francis He said that a book of condolence is open online and is also available at Mossley Mill and Antrim Civic Centre where they will remain open until Friday afternoon The PSNI discovered a viable device during a security alert in Newtownabbey Shortly after 12:30pm on Saturday 26 April police received a report of a suspicious object located at the Rathmore Drive area which has been declared as a viable device has been taken away for further forensic examination Chief Inspector Tate said: “The Rathmore Drive which was closed during the public safety operation in the area Police would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding “Enquiries are continuing and police would appeal to anyone with any information that might be able to assist with their enquiries to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 606 26/04/25 information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.” This is the Co Antrim man accused of abusing his position to defraud Danske Bank appeared in the dock of Belfast Magistrates Court last week The blast bomb found in the Loyalist estate of Rathcoole on Saturday Army bomb disposal teams were called to the Loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey after a suspicious object was found in a garden at lunchtime today(saturday) Local residents watch on as the Army disposal team and police block off part of the estate Army bomb disposal teams were called to the Loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey Hugh JordanWed 30 Apr 2025 at 22:30A blast bomb thrown at a family home in Belfast last weekend could have killed The explosive device – found in the garden of a property in Cluanbeg Drive on the loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey – was discovered around lunchtime when the family living there returned from a Saturday morning shopping trip Police sources said the family have absolutely no connection to any of the paramilitary-linked organisations still operating in the staunchly loyalist district But following the discovery of the blast bomb – which was slight larger than a can of Coke – the area around the house was sealed off immediately by police before an army bomb disposal team was sent for Locals living in the area watched the bomb being defused from behind police security tape And the Citybus service by Translink was forced to do a detour through another part of the sprawling estate around five miles from Belfast city centre But after examining Sunday World photographs snapped with a long-range lens – a retired member of the security forces told us: “This is what an Army Technical Officer would call a blast bomb It is made up of a 2in socket joint and capped with two beaded plugs It has been most likely packed with explosives sourced from cartridges or fireworks is of a type commonly found in over-the-counter fireworks this type of blast bomb is a home-made hand grenade “The photograph shows that the fuse has been ignited but it was most likely extinguished on impact with the ground they are every bit as deadly as commercial or military ordinance “The detonation velocity of such a device can range from 1,100fps (feet per second) to 1,800fps It has the power to send shrapnel from the fractured metal casing in a wide trajectory,” said the source He added: “This device is made for one reason and one reason only – death.” Rathcoole residents were enjoying afternoon sunshine when two army bomb disposal vehicles pulled into Cluanbeg Drive They had been summonsed to the scene by two PSNI CID officers wearing white forensic suits As uniformed police made sure members of the public were well out of danger the bomb disposal team made ready their equipment including a robot capable of examining an explosive device at close range Using a computer screen fixed on the tailgate of one of the lorries the technician propelled the robot towards the suspect device The entire operation moved at a snail’s pace bomb disposal officers complained to the police that members of the public were still far too near the device A crowd of largely male residents wearing Rangers tops stood chatting with PSNI officers from either side of the security tape And when they were asked to move further back A bomb disposal officer wearing full protective clothing again walked over to the suspect device before returning to speak to the CID officers One female resident who spoke to us said: “We got the shock of our lives when the police and army began arriving in the estate around lunchtime The police told us is was a suspected bomb and we were told not to go beyond the cordon.” She added: “We all thought this was a thing of the past.” The PSNI said it was a viable device and that it had been taken away by army technical officers for further forensic examination Rathmore Drive was closed during the operation but has since reopened The bomb alert came just 48 hours after a cache of pipe bombs was found near Belfast Castle in north Belfast Controlled explosions were carried out on the bombs which sources said belonged to a crime gang with links to the UVF Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. Available on Apple and Android devices The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response Police officers attended the scene and spoke with a number of young people and the PSNI has issued an appeal for those involved to "think seriously about the consequences of their actions." A local councillor, who has been dealing for a long time with escalating issues with young people from the Rathcoole and Bawnmore areas is meeting the council to discuss how to de-escalate the issue ahead of the summer months Read more: Student allegedly made rape and murder comments on Incel forums, court hears Read more: Masked man makes off with cash, tobacco, and alcohol in robbery Cllr Taylor McGrann told Belfast Live: "We have been told by local community workers that these young people are travelling from other areas also to get involved in this violence This was initially a problem at V36 but has now moved into the community along with the incidents in recent days on Church Road next to Lidl and Tesco "We have been working closely with Bawnmore & District Residents Association and other community representatives. As the local councillor for the area I have met the Education Authority in recent weeks and hope that youth provision can be increased "The youth and community workers in both Bawnmore and Rathcoole are doing their very best to tackle this issue with the limited resources they have We will be meeting the council next week to discuss potential diversionary money which can help de-escalate this issue coming into the summer months "The last thing we want is any of our young people getting criminal records and we will be doing our very best to engage them in programmes to prevent these ongoing issues continuing. We have also engaged with and will be meeting the PSNI to discuss solutions to these ongoing issues We appeal to parents to speak to their children and discourage this behaviour as someone could end up seriously hurt." Bawmore & District Residents Association appealed for parents to check on their children They said: "If your child is in Bawnmore kids from Rathcoole and Bawnmore are at M&S direction fighting "These young people are going to get a criminal record or seriously injured We have been out doing outreach and many young people aren't from this community." In a post on social media on Monday night, police said: "In the last hour Police in Newtownabbey have dealt with disorder involving youths in the Church Road/Glenmount Road/Longwood Road area. We have received reports of these youths carrying weapons and they have been masked up "If you have any information that may assist Police please call us on 101 quoting reference number 1243 of 21/4/25 Alternatively you can provide information anonymously via Crimestoppers on the link below." A PSNI spokesperson added: "Police attended the scene and spoke with a number of young people in the area - the Youth Diversion Officer has also been notified "Police would appeal to those involved in anti-social behaviour of any kind to think seriously about the consequences of their actions and we would ask parents and guardians to speak to their young people about where they are and who they are with and to warn them of the dangers of getting involved in this type of behaviour "This type of activity can have a detrimental impact on the local community. Please continue reporting any concerns so that we can take action, on 101, or online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport or speak directly to your Neighbourhood Team Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right launch the swift caller system at Mossley Mill Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Planning Committee has approved advice notes relating to swifts and building construction A document has been drafted in association with the Northern Ireland Swift Association the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (Northern Ireland) and Northern Ireland Environment Agency indicated that officers intend to provide this information with any planning permissions granted committee member Airport Sinn Fein Councillor Annemarie Logue described the move as “a very positive step” “We are the first council to actually bring this forward I think it is a very positive step and look forward to this being launched.” Antrim SDLP Councillor Roisin Lynch said: “I very much welcome this positive planning note.” which arrives in Northern Ireland in late April has been named as the official ‘Bird of the Borough’ It was given this status by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council in May 2015 following a request by Antrim RSPB Local Group The Belfast group of the RSPB says that the swift population is “plummeting fast” with numbers declining by two-thirds since 1995 The group has attributed this decrease to “vanishing nesting spaces” “As houses and buildings are renovated and old ones demolished the crevices and crannies that swifts used to build their nests are filled in ”Swift bricks fit flush with the rest of the structure and do not compromise its appearance,” the group states Swift nest bricks have been incorporated into new build / renovated buildings including Antrim Library two swift bird callers have been installed alongside swift nest boxes at the council’s environmental services depot in Antrim and at Mossley Mill WhatsApp: 07311 700 250 Privacy Policy 2025 at 8:11am BSTA security alert in Newtownabbey has ended following the removal of a “viable device” by emergency services the PSNI advised motorists to avoid the Rathmore Drive area as they attended the scene A security alert was put in place following the report of the suspicious object the PSNI said the device had been declared “viable” Chief Inspector Tate said: “Shortly after 12.30pm on Saturday April 26 police received a report of a suspicious object located at the Rathmore Drive area “Police would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding How the funeral of Pope Francis unfoldedOpens in new window“Inquiries are continuing and police would appeal to anyone with any information that might be able to assist with their inquiries, to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 606 26/04/25. “Alternatively, information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.”